Saturday, January 31, 2015

CALL TO ACTION! We are in a battle. We have asked our National Endorsers, Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin, Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Levin, Tom Coburn, Alan West, Michael Farris, Mark Meckler, and many, many more to post support for the Convention of States project on their Facebook pages.

Here's what we need you to do:

1. Visit the Facebook pages of each of these endorsers and DOMINATE the conversation. We need you to be vigilant and steadfast the next five days, overwhelming our opponents with your support.

2. Monitor the Convention of States Facebook Page and the COS State pages for news of additional endorsers joining this social media event.

We are in a real battle in the state of Virginia. One of the founding States, the home of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Mason, to name a few, is in jeopardy of rejecting the Convention of States resolution because of mis-information, blatant lies and scare tactics by our opponents.

We cannot let this happen!

Now is the time for your voice to be heard. Let's send a loud and clear message on the Facebook pages of our National Endorsers.

As discussed in my earlier email: a Constitutional Convention is very dangerous, and is backed by Political Action Committees operated by George Soros such as the Wolf Pac (who have since taken their true intentions off of their website, but thanks to a screen grab can be seen here). Conservative Delegate Bob Marshall agrees that such a convention would play into the hands of these liberal groups. Read his article below.

Please contact your state delegate and senator and ask them to vote no and protect our Constitution! Find out who your representative is here and tell them not to put the Constitution of the United States of America AT RISK: http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Warm Regards, Senator Dick Black

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The Looming Con-Con

Picture from bobmarshall2012.com

According to an email from Delegate Bob Marshall sent a few moments ago, tomorrow two pieces of legislation regarding a constitutional convention will come before the Rule Committee in the Virginia House of Delegates. They areHJ 497sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter andHJ 499by Delegate Jim LeMunyon.

Although many of us would agree that the federal government has grossly exceeded the authority granted to it by the U.S. Constitution, we have considerable reservations about a constitutional convention. Given that the 9th and 10th Amendments are routinely ignored, why would the federal government decide to honor some new amendment that would limit its power? Unfortunately, an Article V Convention, as proposed by these bills and others, could end up merely legitimizing the century and a half of usurpation that has already taken place.

As Delegate Marshall writes, "Once called by Congress, the Convention cannot be stopped or limited and will have complete authority to change any part of our Constitution! The only other convention, held in 1787, re-wrote the Articles of Confederation, and changed the ratification requirements from unanimous to three fourths! Yes, it gave us our present Constitution, but we had many statesmen of moral conviction who fought the War of Independence leading the nation at that time. Madison said he trembled at the thought of a second convention after witnessing the first!"

He goes on to add, "The state legislators planning the Article V Convention rejected a motion that would have prevented Members of Congress, the US Senate, federal judges and governors from serving as convention delegates. They also tabled a motion to restrict the subject matter of the convention."

Anyone who cares about a constitutionally limited government certainly can be sympathetic to the aims of those proposing an Article V Convention. However, so far the case has not been sufficiently made to do so. It seems a far better remedy is to demand that our legislators in Washington adhere to the Constitution and replace though who have failed in this duty. In addition, we need to elect representatives to the General Assembly in Richmond who are not afraid to draw the line and say no to the federal government, show how the feds have violated the Constitution, and fight against any and all encroachment when necessary.

Delegate Marshall concludes his email by saying, "Please also urge your own state delegate and senator to OPPOSE ALL APPLICATIONS ASKING CONGRESS TO CALL AN ARTICLE V CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION."

______________________________________________________________________________http://www.senatorblack.com | AUTHORIZED AND PAID FOR BY BLACK FOR SENATE

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Opposition is mounting to the Convention of States Project's proactive effort to use the states' constitutional power to end federal tyranny! You may have seen Sen. Dick Black's "urgent" e-mail, in which he makes a number of patently false claims about our effort.

Please take a few minutes to arm yourself with the truth about Article V and COS, by reading the point-by-point response from renowned constitutional lawyer and Article V expert, Michael Farris.

After you read it, please contact your Virginia Delegate and Senator and urge their support for HJ 497 and SJ 269. It's time to stand firm on the truth. It's time to stand for liberty.

Friday, January 30, 2015

As week three comes to an end, I want to assure you that our office is working hard on the things promised during my campaign: creating jobs, improving education, and supporting our military and veterans. These goals are always on our minds.

Jobs and the economy

On the jobs front, HB 2347,my bill relating to public procurement, backed by the city of Virginia Beach, would extend more opportunities to compete to disabled veteran-owned and minority-owned businesses. In advancing this concept, we obtained a commitment to study the bill and its effects over a year by the Small Business Council. I want to extend my thanks to Carla Baily and Michael Lancaster, small business owners in Virginia Beach that serve on the city's Minority Business Council, for making the trip up to Richmond to speak on behalf of the bill. I look forward to working with them in the future.

Keeping school start post Labor Day

Our office participated in a news conference highlighting a Virginia Commonwealth University study showing no added benefit to starting school prior to Labor Day. The Virginia study joins others from Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin showing the same conclusion: no benefit to the students. Conversely, starting school prior to Labor Day would have a serious negative impact on our region,due to the reduction of direct and indirect tourism economic activity.

VHTA Press Conference

Pay raise for teachers and other state workers

I'm pleased to tell you that state revenues are higher than expected (6.8% vs 3.1%). Below are some of the ways in which the House of Delegates proposes that these increased revenues be used:

* fund pay raises for teachers, state police, state employees, and state-supported local employees

* restore approximately $4 million in overtime funding for state police

This week a bill passed to build new veterans care centers in Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach. Reps. Randy Forbes and Rob Wittman pledged this week to do what they can at the federal level to move these important projects forward. Virginia currently has only two veterans care centers to provide long-term care for 781,000 veterans who live in the commonwealth. You can read more about our efforts in The Washington Post.

In addition, I introduced legislation this week, HB 2397 that streamlines and creates more efficiency in the Military and Overseas Voters Act.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has piqued quite a bit of interest. HB 1360, my bill allowing crowdfunding for access to capital for Virginia businesses, passed on it's second reading. You can read more here.

As always, it was great seeing so many visitors in Richmond this week. There is nothing more powerful than seeing proactive advocacy. Thank you to these groups for visiting: Virginia School Board, Virginia unions, Virginia pharmacists, Military Officers Association of America, Hampton Roads Transit, bike advocates, Damuth Trane, Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia Tourism, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Beach Hotel Motel Association, Virginia Catholic Conference, mortgage bankers, Farmers Bureau, Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists, Family Caregivers, AARP, VADA, and Virginia Production Alliance., Family Caregivers, AARP, VADA, Virginia Production Alliance.

Very Respectfully,

STAY CONNECTED

Del. Scott Taylor was elected as delegate for Virginia's 85th District in 2013. He is an entrepreneur, Iraq War veteran, and former Navy SEAL. Taylor is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel discussing foreign policy, national security, and military and veterans' issues. He is also a former member of the Virginia War Memorial Board of Trustees, appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell.www.scotttaylorva.com

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Dustin Ortiz 555.555.5555

Our work and our people are regularly covered in publications around the world.

Our opposition in Virginia has kicked into high gear, using robocalls and scare tactics in an attempt to derail our efforts to rein in federal power through a Convention of States. With a vote on the Convention of States resolution expected within days, we need you to contact every delegate in the Virginia Assembly and tell them to vote for HJ497 and support a Convention of States to bring the power back to Virginia!

Our opponents have repeatedly spread false rumors and misinformation about Convention of States, and many legislators who are on the fence about Convention of States are listening to their propaganda. Please support Virginia by calling as many legislators as you can today. All call information is below.

With only 30 days remaining in this year's short General Assembly session, I am pleased to report positive progress on several legislative goals. As I mentioned last week, the Republican agenda includes initiatives to support veterans and improve our system of higher education. These bills are continuing to move through the legislative process. During the past week, the House also heard legislation to reduce bureaucracy at the K-12 level. Following is information about bills that may be of interest to you.

Education

Did you know that there are more than 35,000 home schooled students in Virginia? In fact, when my children were young, I chose to educate them at home for several years. As such, I understand firsthand the need to select a curriculum that suits a child's individual needs and learning style. I also recognize that valuable life lessons are learned in extracurricular activities like high school sports. For this reason, I strongly support House Bill 1626, the "Tebow Bill." This legislation permits home educated students to participate in public school sports. Earlier this week, the bill passed the House of Delegates on a vote of 57-41.

A common complaint from educators and parents alike is the bureaucracy that often characterizes our system of public education. To address this challenge, the House today passed House Bill 1674. This legislation will reduce the burden of annual accreditation by rewarding schools with a track record of success. Based on criteria established by the Board of Education, a school's accreditation status may be reviewed once every two years or once every three years, rather than having an annual review for every school. This change permits teachers and administrators to spend more time on student learning and give local leaders needed flexibility without sacrificing accountability in our schools.

As vice chair of the House Education Committee, I hear frequent feedback and criticism about Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. This input helped shape House Bill 1490, legislation that expedites retake of SOL tests (with the exception of the writing SOL assessment) to all students regardless of grade level or course. Currently, expedited retake is only available for assessments that are required for high school graduation.

Transparency in government: holding land trusts accountable

Throughout the year, I hear from Virginians who desire increased governmental transparency and accountability. As a legislator, I take seriously this challenge. I recognize that government must adopt needed reforms in order to remain answerable to voters and taxpayers.

For this reason, I introduced House Bill 1488. This commonsense legislation allows parties in a conservation easement to participate in a dispute mediation process overseen by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Currently, parties in the easement must pursue litigation in order to resolve disagreements. My bill will add standards of transparency to the resolution process.

To share brief background information, Virginia's conservation tax credit program is voluntary, allowing property owners to conserve their property through perpetual conservation easements. Landowners donate property, such as farmland or a historic parcel, to a qualifying public or private conservation organization. In return, the property owner receives a tax credit.

Virginia's popular conservation tax credit program has facilitated the preservation of many historic and otherwise significant properties. Because taxpayer dollars help support this program, I believe that the process and program must be transparent. House Bill 1488 will provide much needed reform, and I am pleased that the bill passed out of the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee with strong support. The bill is now on the House floor, where I expect it to pass on Monday.

HB2202 will allow all 140 legislators, and Virginia taxpayers, to know what earmarks have been placed in the conference committee budget so that all voting on it can make an informed decision when they vote.

Disclosing earmarks will make it easier for lawmakers to identify pork and wasteful spending and to cut it out. (If not in that particular budget, certainly in the next session)

The bill makes public all line items in the budget that were not part of either the House or Senate proposed budgets, appropriations to non-state agencies, and items that were defeated during session. (A backdoor way of getting a defeated measure into law anyway)

The bill also requires that all the items be listed line by line, the name of the legislator who put them in there and the amount of the expenditure.